Stltoday - Missouri agency never contacted railroad to review crossing, site of deadly Amtrak crash
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... b9975.html
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... b9975.html
James Wild, ED of EWG, has been appointed as the East-West Gateway rep on the Illinois High Speed Railway Commission.
Commission has been slow to start and still two short on quorum.
https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/bac/Sit ... ?BCID=1257
Commission has been slow to start and still two short on quorum.
https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/bac/Sit ... ?BCID=1257
One draw back of one train going KCY-STL-CHI is if it's late coming from KCY it's late leaving STL.
- 6,119
^But one upshot is you don't miss a connection that way.
They can catch the 306 leaving at 5:40.
Yesterday the 318 arrived 4'50" late, so I guess they would have missed the 306 too. The 318 left STL 4'58" late. Fri it was on time. Thurs it left 58" late. This is concerning as the 304 leaving STL at 3pm has been my go to.
Yesterday the 318 arrived 4'50" late, so I guess they would have missed the 306 too. The 318 left STL 4'58" late. Fri it was on time. Thurs it left 58" late. This is concerning as the 304 leaving STL at 3pm has been my go to.
- 6,119
Oh, it's a real problem, I grant. No denying that. As I recall the delays are mostly a problem between Kansas City and Jeff City, and they happen a lot because of directional flow on the Sedalia Sub. The state paid UP to extend the sidings, since the River Runner was the only thing going the wrong way, but that was before "precision railroading" made trains seven thousand feet or more. Amtrak may be stuck "in the hole" because the freights might be too long for the sidings . . . again. (Someone once said the quest for efficiency would be the bane of American railroading. I forget who. Maybe David P. Morgan? Not sure if that's right, but it's a pleasant thought.) If you allow the stops in Sedalia, Warrensburg, Lee's Summit, and Independence to be directional you could solve the problem. And gain directional stops in Buckner, Lexington, and Marshall in the deal. Alternately, you could just pay to double track the line between Jeff City and Kansas City. Or better yet, pay to double track the former Wabash and use that instead. Then you can go through Centralia and have a branch service to Columbia. Might well be worth the trade. (You get away from the worst of the flooding to boot.)
Or just go back to separate 318 and 304 trains. 33 mins late leaving STL today.
- 1,792
So I'm 95% certain we are misusing the minutes (') and seconds (") symbols because i can't imagine being concerned about 4 minute delays.
The massive delays measured in hours are i think the biggest problem amtrack needs to deal with. Who cares about running faster mphon the track when you get held up by a freight train for 4+hours because they had an issue. Its the primary reason i can't my wife to use Amtrak anymore we have twice had a 4 hr trip to chicago become a 9 hrs trip.
The massive delays measured in hours are i think the biggest problem amtrack needs to deal with. Who cares about running faster mphon the track when you get held up by a freight train for 4+hours because they had an issue. Its the primary reason i can't my wife to use Amtrak anymore we have twice had a 4 hr trip to chicago become a 9 hrs trip.
The folks at railroad.net usually use (') for hours and (") for minutes, so I copied that approach. Their meaning depends on the context I guess. Sometimes they mean feet and inches after all.
- 1,792
Hmm ok maybe its a railroad thing.
As far as I know the minutes & seconds abbreviation comes from geometry (astronomy and navigation) rather than time anyway. Basically 360 deg in a circle, 60 minutes per degree, 60 seconds per minute.
As far as I know the minutes & seconds abbreviation comes from geometry (astronomy and navigation) rather than time anyway. Basically 360 deg in a circle, 60 minutes per degree, 60 seconds per minute.
In my business we use (') for feet and (") for inches. Logically that kind of makes sense for hours and minutes as well. I honestly didn't know they used those abbreviations elsewhere haha.
- 6,119
The official title of John Cage's Four Minutes and Thirty Three Seconds is 4'33". I understood the meaning above as hours and minutes pretty instinctually as it made no sense the other way. But I've absolutely seen x'n" as x minutes n seconds in time as well as geometry. That said, railroaders are an odd lot. And I say that as someone going to a convention with a bunch of them this weekend in Indiana. 
- 6,119
^Okay, I concede the point. But what I REALLY want is a fix to the delays.
Props to Hermann for highlighting the train on their tourism website. I also saw a Visit Hermann commercial with the train shown.
https://visithermann.com/things-to-do/transportation/
https://visithermann.com/things-to-do/transportation/
- 99
Definitely makes a ton of sense on their behalf especially going into wine season leading into October. They have great wineries and entertainment every weekend. Cant beat catching the River Runner in the am, drinking to your hearts content and unwinding on the evening ride home, avoiding all the craziness on the roads leading in and out. It's good they got that evening return train back running because that would have been disastrous. About the only downside would be price. I've taken the trip several times and it's only gotten more expensive. My first time round trip, probably 12 years ago, was about $50 dollars per person. If I'm not mistaken the last time I went a few years ago it was closer to $80. But looking at current rates, they seem to be a little lower so it's probably a matter of buy early for the best price.quincunx wrote: ↑Aug 23, 2022Props to Hermann for highlighting the train on their tourism website. I also saw a Visit Hermann commercial with the train shown.
https://visithermann.com/things-to-do/transportation/
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^ Looks like ~$65 RT on business class for a few weeks out. Little less than $40 in coach pretty much any time.
For anyone that's never seen the Hermann station when a train rolls through, there's almost always someone handing out travel guides and answering questions. On busy days, there's 3 to 6 shuttles lined up to take people to various wineries. All for Amtrak passengers.
- 6,119
^Maybe I need to make another trip to Herman. It's been years. 
StlToday - Amtrak to begin canceling some long-distance trains Tuesday
https://www.stltoday.com/business/local ... f2738.html
https://www.stltoday.com/business/local ... f2738.html
I rode in the new cars last week. The aisle is really wide and seats narrower. There are handles on the seats to aid walking down the aisle. The windows are bigger. The PA is clearer, though too low volume. The ride was smoother. I could make the seat rock back and forth, though it didn't happen incidentally. I couldn't figure out how to make the seat recline. I pushed the button. I finally realized that they all were already reclined. The tray table is bigger.
I’m scheduled to take one Friday evening. Not great timing on my part. Might need to start looking up greyhound tickets….quincunx wrote: ↑Sep 13, 2022StlToday - Amtrak to begin canceling some long-distance trains Tuesday
https://www.stltoday.com/business/local ... f2738.html